Piano Skills Festival Information
Greenville Music Teachers Association
About the GMTA Piano Skills Festival
The Piano Skills Festival is a non-competitive, adjudicated event that promotes LIFE-LONG MUSICIANSHIP!
With audition components that include keyboard technique, theory and musicianship skills, as well as performance, the Festival is intended to improve and expand students’ overall pianistic and musicianship abilities. Students who consistently participate will develop skills that last a lifetime.
Evaluated Piano Skills
11 Levels • 5 Required Skills • 1 Optional Endorsement
Technique—scales, arpeggios, chords and chord progressions
Harmonization—accompaniment of provided melodies
Transposition—transpose accompanied melodies
Sight Reading—appropriate to level
Performance—published arrangement (no memory requirement)
Improvisation—(optional; 7 levels) follow the rules of functional harmony
When: Saturday, October 24, 2026 Bob Jones University
REGISTRATION Deadline: October 1, 12:00 NOON
No registrations will be accepted after the deadline.
No refunds will be given for missed or cancelled auditions
Preparing Students for the GMTA Piano Skills Festival
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Teachers should log into their GMTA account and visit the Events page…
Teachers can register all of their students in one sitting, or they can register a few students, take a break, then log back in to finish and submit the registration at a later date.
After submitting all student information, payment will be due as part of the registration process.
All registrations and all payments are due by October 1 at 12 noon.
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Yes! The performance category requires a published piano arrangement of a previously existing musical work. Memory is not required.
Examples:
Hymns and religious songs
His Robes for Mine by Habegger, arr. Sprunger
Traditional, national, and folk tunes
When the Saints Go Marching In, Traditional, arr. Faber
Popular songs
Hey Jude by Lennon/McCartney, arr. Holland
Broadway and movie scores
Star Wars (Main Theme) by Williams, arr. Holland
Orchestral and instrumental works
Blue Danube Waltz by Strauss, arr. Streabbog
Operatic melodies and art songs
Serenade by Schubert, trans. Heller
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Levels 1-6: $19 per student
Levels 7-11: $23.50 per student
Improvisation Event (optional): $6.50
Medal (optional): $6.50 per medal
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Any music teacher may enter students . . .
GMTA members with the password may access Festival Resource Materials and register!
Non-GMTA members must pay an annual $75 non-member fee in order to access Festival materials and register students. (Contact us for more information)
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Visit our password-protected Festival General Resources page to see requirements for each level, audition examples, and recommended preparation resources.
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Contact Us to get access
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All fees are calculated at sign up. Before submissions are submitted you will need to submit payment through the portal.
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Times will be emailed to teachers approximately two weeks after registration closes.
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There are currently seven levels of the Improvisation Curriculum with more levels to come in the future. This event is currently optional.
Students can choose different levels for the main curriculum and the Improvisation Event.
See Festival General Resources for the different levels for main curriculum and the Improvisation Event curriculum requirements.The Improvisation audition will occur at the end of the student's regular audition. Therefore, students participating in Improvisation will have slightly longer audition times.
A separate judging sheet will be received, and a "special event" sticker will be affixed to the Festival certificate.
There is an additional fee of $6.50 to participate in the Improvisation Event.
Audition Day Expectations
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Students should arrive 15 minutes before their scheduled time to check in at the lobby of Gustafson Fine Arts Center. After checking in, students should report to the waiting room to wait for their name to be called.
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Parents and teachers are required to stay in the waiting room. A monitor will escort students from the waiting room to auditions and back.
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Students should have these items:
MUSIC. One original published copy of their performance piece with measures numbered. An additional published copy for the judge is suggested. No photocopies are allowed. Any digital/electronic copies must have the purchaser’s name printed on the music or should be accompanied by a receipt.
AUDITION CURRICULUM MATERIALS. Additional copies will be provided if needed.
CHECK-IN FORM. One completed Check-in Form should be attached to the front of the student’s music. Check-in Forms will be emailed to teachers after audition times are assigned.
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The PSF Committee will email PDFs of evaluation sheets with ratings and judge comments to teachers after the festival is over. Teachers can then choose to forward the PDFs to their students or print for students. Teachers should receive the emailed evaluation sheets within 48 hours of the event.
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The PSF Committee will notify teachers when certificates and medals (if teachers ordered medals) are ready for pickup, approximately 1-2 weeks after the event. Pick-up is at Pecknel Music, at the far end of the Sheet Music Checkout Desk in the organization file shelves. You may also coordinate a pick-up at the Bob Jones Music Library.